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Critique of religious pluralism
Religious diversity and its effects
Critique of religious pluralism
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As we all know, many philosophers and theologians have their own views and opinions on the idea of religious pluralism. One particular philosopher of interest is the famous John Hick. According to Hick, “The fact that there is a plurality of religious traditions, each with its own distinctive beliefs, spiritual practices, ethical outlook, art forms, and cultural ethos, creates an obvious problem for those of us who see them, not simply as human phenomena, but as responses to the Divine.” (Hick, p.54) While John Hick describes what he believes is religious pluralism, he also explains the problem of religious diversity. While some similarities exist among certain religions, there are also many differences between the spiritual beliefs and practices …show more content…
The way Hick expresses this idea is through religious passages to salvation. Many religions have different interpretations of what salvation is, but all of these understandings lead to a common definition of salvation. Hick claims that salvation is “the transformation of human existence from self-centeredness to a new orientation, centered in the divine Reality. (Hick, p.55) Every religion has a specific approach to achieve salvation. Hick uses the example of “… faithfulness to the Torah, discipleship to Jesus, obedient living out of the Qur’anic way of life, the Eightfold Path of the Buddhist dharma, or the three great Hindu margas of mystical insight, activity in the world, and self-giving devotion to God.” (Hick, p.55) While there is much diversity, one things that all religions share is the idea of divine reality also known as the “Real” (Hick, p.54) As stated in Hick’s essay, “is the divine reality (let us refer to it as the Real) personal or non-personal; if personal, is it unitary or triune; is the universe created, or emanated, or itself eternal; do we live only once on this earth or are we repeatedly reborn?” (Hick, p.54) Every religion has a different opinion on divine reality, their relationship with it and how they worship their higher being. For example, some religions worship gods and goddesses, while others view the divine as avatars, supernatural beings and …show more content…
(Hick, p.62) Every religion has a different opinion of what happened in the past. Many of these religions learn about their past in religious scripture. For instance, “In the case of Judaism these include at least the main features of the history described in the Hebrew scriptures; in the case of Christianity, these plus the main features of life, death, and resurrection of Jesus described in the New Testament; in the case of Islam, the main features of the history described in the Qur’an; in the case of Vaishnavite Hinduism, the historicity of Krishna; in the case of Buddhism, the historicity of Guatama and his enlightenment at Bodh Gaya; and so on.” (Hick, p.62-63) As we can see, there are vast variations in the historical records of each religion, although, John Hick does not see these deviations as a problem. As Hick states in his essay, “But although each tradition thus has its own records of the past, there are rather few instances of direct disagreement between these. For the strands of history that are cherished in these different historical memories do not generally overlap; and where they do overlap they do not generally involve significant differences.” (Hick, p.63) Some overlaps between religious histories agree with each other, and others vary significantly. It is difficult to confirm which memory is correct without sufficient documentation. Hick then explains, “It is evidently
Religious tolerance and religious pluralism have many different definitions, depending on the person’s interpretation of the word and where the person gets the definition. Every person of every faith and the people without a faith can have a different definition for tolerance and for pluralism. Diana L. Eck, the director of The Pluralism Project at Harvard University, gives a clear definition for pluralism. Pluralism is a two way street of dialogue, knowledge, understanding, and active participation (Eck 2 “From Diversity”). Pluralism is not meant to be an assimilation of religions or that a person of any faith has to believe all religious paths are true. Religious Tolerance is the continuous congruent relations betw...
As the world becomes increasingly more interconnected, differences among the many religions prove to be obstacles to the global society. In an effort to overcome these obstacles, religious authorities propose the essential sameness of all religions (that all religions point towards the same goal); however, this hypothesis oversimplifies all religions to an arbitrary base. On the other hand, Stephen Prothero’s, the author of God Is Not One, proposal for the acknowledgment of the differences preserves the multidimensional aspects of religions. By rejecting the hypothesis of a basic and similar structure of religion, Prothero allows for them to exist as complete entities; however, Prothero also creates false barriers that over differentiate religions.
In the article “Human Salvation in an Evolutionary World: An Exploration in Christian Naturalism” by Karl Peters, Peters states salvation is “not primarily a future life after death but a transformation in this life of both ourselves and this world” (Peters, 845). Salvation is not only something that can be found after death; people can find salvation at any point by deciding to make a transformation in their lives to better themselves as well as the world around them. However, most humans seek salvation to find solace in the critical moment of their death; individuals find comfort in the belief of life after death or an eternal soul. Several people find salvation through religious means. In Christianity, salvation is reached through the open acceptance of Christ into one’s life by promising to live their life by God.
John Hicks wants to say that religious pluralism is the better option compared to exclusivism. Religious pluralism is the idea that all the great religions in the world lead to God. John Hick’s religious pluralism argument attempts to do a couple of things. Hick’s believed that each major religion has a different interpretation of the same ultimate reality, of the same salvation.... ...
There are three different perspectives towards all religions: Excluivism, Pluralism, and Inclusivism (lecture notes, 1/12). These views towards religions vary greatly and determine the parallels or disconnects between all of them. In brief, excluivism determines that whatever faith is outside their belief system is false. Pluralism is on the other side of the spectrum. Pluralism express the fact that though there are many different religions and practices they are all equal in truth. Catholicism takes the perspective of Inclusivism. This point of view stresses the fact that all religions have some grasps of objective truths but, to do not have the universal truth.
“In thinking about religion, it is easy to be confused about what it is.” (Smart, 1992) To combat this, Smart uses seven dimensions to define common characteristics of religion. Much of what will be explored will fit his dimensions. The practical and ritual dimension can been seen in all three religions through worship and rituals and patterns of behaviour. The latter are those acts that help the believer develop spiritual awareness or ethical insight, such as yoga or meditation in Buddhism and Hinduism. The experiential and emotional dimension of religion explains that religion feeds on human emotions and key events from history to illustrate this is, the enlightenment of the Buddha, or the visions of Muhammad. A person will not follow something without meaning or emotion driving it. The narrative or mythic dimension of religion refers to the use of story telling in religion. Typically, all faiths use stories to illustrate their beliefs or events in history, whether they might be of things to come, or like in this essay, stories of the Buddha, or Muhammad. The use of story telling is important as the stories are often based on accounts of history or documents that have been found. Story telling can enhance the believers faith and are often integrated into rituals. The doctrinal and philosophical dimension of religion talks about the importance of the holy books/ doctrines. Since the doctrines typically have an account of the leaders life, and the leaders are usually educated, believers read the doctrines to gain an insight into the leaders life; and thus strive to become more like them or abide by their teachings. The ethical and legal
There are many religious groups throughout the world and the three largest religious groups are Christianity, Islam, and Nonreligious people who claim no religion at all. Under these three religions are other religions that basically having the same belief, but their belief may differ slightly. They all worship God, but in their own way, each having their own belief of salvation of how man is saved.
The world religions of Islam and Christianity may have their differences to the naked eye, but when you take a closer look into their histories similarities arise. They both went through transformations that had drastic impacts on the way they were controlled and the way that the religion was taught to the followers. Christianity and Islam have both experienced splits between their members due to the fact that followers thought that their beliefs were the correct way to practice the religion. While these transformations are long in the past, the splits that have occurred within each religion continue to have lasting effects on Islam and Christianity to this day.
Each religion based their history on Abraham and flourished from their going in their own directions leading into differences relating to Jesus Christ, although all believing in him took this man in a different light and interpreted him in a different way. All possessing sacred texts was a common occurrence among each religion, but the importance laid upon them and the significance put forth in each one was the difference that leads to a separation between them that cannot be mended. Each religion has a set of beliefs, or values, that if broken would make the religion irrelevant. Judaism, Islam, and Christianity can never reconcile their faiths without disregarding the basis of their individual religious practice. Works Cited Lewis M. Hopfe & Mark R. Woodward, Religions of the World, Prentice-Hall, 11th edition.
Salvation or "being saved" means redemption from the power of sin. In practical terms, God 's salvation is what we need to get to heaven or attain eternal life. (Leitch, 2010) Salvation is a major theme in the many parts of the Bible and the Qur’an. It was written in to the stories so that followers of the religion would adhere to the rules and regulations set by God and achieve the common goal: eternal life in heaven. Salvation in religion will be explored through a brief overview of Salvation and what it means in the general sense, Salvation in the texts in the Bible, the teaching of salvation in Christianity and Islam and how this differs.
The Birthplace of the religions is just as significant to the different sects; which, the religions are composed of. Each religion has different branches where each sect varies on beliefs. For instance, Judaism is broke into three major branches Orthodox, Conservative and Reform. This are consider the sects of today. One major argument between the groups is the interpretation and validation of the Torah. "The argument is rather the torah was written by G-d and given to mosses completely intact. The Second argument is the ...
The ideal of unity seems to be of great importance in the religious world, but rarely is it ever achieved among professed Christians. However, it is vitally important to comprehend unity in its Biblical light. Jesus prayed in John 17:21, “That they all may be one, as thou, Father art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.” By definition, unity is the state of being one. In order to have a unified church every member must be one one with the Father and the Son. Subsequently, to achieve such an oneness, each member must be perfectly holy, because God is holy. Unfortunately, this is where a clear contrast is made between the saints and mere religious professors.
The nature of God differs in every religion. Some religions have one, many, or even no God that they worship. However, no matter who or what they worship, there is always a spiritual aspect to their belief system. These spirits play a key role in influencing their actions in their everyday life.
Lutzer, Erwin. The Doctrines That Divide: a Fresh Look at the Historic Doctrines That Separate Christians. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1998.
In Hinduism some of the things I found most fascinating is that the idea of God in Hindu is compounded and how they worship. There is one Supreme God and his form is unlimited. The Supreme God’s qualities and forms are represented by the numerous deities that stem from him. The deities God can form can be either male or female, allowing Hindus to pray to a god or goddess.